Review: The Dead Milkmen – “Quaker City Quiet Pills”

The Giving Groove – 09 Jun 2023

An excellent callback to the early days

You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t heard “Punk Rock Girl.” The song that landed The Dead Milkmen on the map also put them on a path to major label-stardom. Or, at least, that’s what should have happened if everything was right in the world. But for the general music-consuming populace, the quirky stylings of their music overall never really translated into a long stint of repeated hits at the top of the charts.

For a certain vintage of music enthusiast, though, the band has been putting out some of the best quirky punk ever. From the opening lines of “Bitchin’ Camaro,” the odd ravings of “Sri Lanka Sex Hotel,” and the ska-rock of “If You Love Somebody, Set Them on Fire” from their early offerings (the band went on hiatus from 1995-2004) to their more recent LPs, they’ve been releasing fun, often silly, sometimes sad music.

Enter Quaker City Quiet Pills, their 11th studio LP, and the third since their reformation. An album that both calls back to the early albums, while definitely planting a foot in our modern times.

One thing that is clear on this album is that their career-long knack for writing songs from the viewpoint of conspiracy-ridden right-wing nutjobs is a bit prescient considering the rise of Trumpism and the race to the bottom that the conservative side of the political spectrum has been undertaking over the past decade or so. Early-career songs like “Tiny Town,” “Stuart,” and the interludes found on 1990’s Metaphysical Graffiti could all be released today and uninitiated listeners would be all like “Hey, it’s a funny song about the Alt-Right!” Where American Conservatives now feel unfettered and proudly say the quiet parts out loud, so have Rodney Anonymous and Co. decided to abandon any sense of ambiguity.

In the opener when the narrator attempts to convince us (and themselves?) that “Grandpa’s Not A Racist (He Just Voted For One),” it becomes obvious pretty darn quick that grandpa is, indeed, 100% racist. “We Have Always Lived in the Compound” is exactly what it sounds like, and follow-up track “We Are (Clearly Not) The Master Race” is even more so. The latter is essentially the line “Just what exactly are the great historical accomplishments of your race that make you proud to be white?” from Propagandhi‘s “The Only Good Fascist is a Very Dead Fascist” fleshed out into a funny, and painfully honest song.

But don’t think The Dead Milkmen only aim towards the right. There are also targets abound, and “How Do You Even Manage to Exist” is one of their funniest songs in decades. A worthy entry in their long line of “spoken narrative” tracks, it tears limb from limb that entitled ass you end up nearby at any given restaurant, set to some dirty rock guitar and a thumping rhythm section that is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song” in its catchiness. I would say that Rodney assumes his grumpy old man hat on this song but, let’s be honest, we’ve all experienced the subject of this song at one point or another in our lives and, if you haven’t, you probably are the subject of this song.

Interestingly, after that the final two songs really mellow down. I’ll be damned if you couldn’t transplant Black Francis/Frank Black’s vocals into penultimate song “Melt Into the Night” and convince someone it was a Pixies b-side (only found in Europe) or a Frank Black and the Catholics track from the late 90s. Closer “The New York Guide to Art” has a synth-y vibe to it and really leans into The Dead Milkmen’s more oddball tendencies in both style, story, and substance.

As I mentioned in my interview with Joe, sound-wise this album really goes back a lot of their earlier work, say Big Lizard… to Bucky Fellini. Personally I find this a good… nay… a great thing. Full-bodied yet still jangly in a way that only The Dead Milkmen seem to be able to pull off.

Normally around this point, especially with a band that has been a part of the scene for so long, I dwell on whether or not this would be an album to break in new fans, or simply a solid work to give the long-time fans more of what they want. However, with The Dead Milkmen, each new album is always an entry point for new fans. Not to say that they’re stale and uncreative, but that there is always so much to enjoy, inevitably two or three breakout tracks, and even the “filler” is such a hoot to listen to. I truly believe you could listen to this and then go straight to Big Lizard and not miss any beats.

So regardless of whether or not Quaker City Quiet Pills is your first entry to The Dead Milkmen, or another in a long-line of beloved albums, sit back and let Dan, Dean. Joe, and Rodney tickle your ear, and your funny bone over and over again.

Note- This album is being released via charitable label The Giving Groove. 50% of the proceeds go to the band, while the other 50% go to a charity of the band’s choosing. The Dead Milkmen previously released 2017’s Welcome to the End of the World EP on the label, and have once again chosen Rock to the Future, which provides instruments, instruction, and performance opportunities to children in the Philadelphia area.